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Sword Of Mana - Another Square Enix GBA Success?
Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on look at Sword Of Mana for the Game Boy Advance, as Square Enix follow up Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which has sold almost 500,000 copies on Nintendo's handheld in the US alone, with this portable RPG, which GameNow describe succinctly as "...a retelling of the age-old black-and-white Game Boy release Final Fantasy Adventure... essentially a prequel to the rest of the Mana series." The official site has more in-depth information, and GameNow points out "most of the original Mana games team is working on this one", suggesting "RPG fans can't really go wrong" with the December 1st-released title. What other Square Enix games would you like to see on Game Boy Advance?
IMHO the best feature of Secret of Mana on SNES is its multi-player mode. I played with 2 other friends for days and we tried to solve the puzzles together. I guess it is not as easy to do so on the GBA.
I would love to see FF3 and some of those great older RPGs for the GBA like Crono Trigger, Illusion of Gaia, Earth Bound, and actraiser
Whilst i would love to have a copy of Chrono Trigger and FFIII/VI on the GBA, hows about we start seeing some true sequels to these old classics, hrm?
Or perhaps even a completely new series...
(Go Advance Wars!)
Don't point that gun at him, he's an unpaid intern!
How about the all the 2D Final Fantasy games (not all on one cart of course. They probably wouldn't all fit). One thing I love about the GBA is the return of 2D gaming. It's proof that past games never get old and the younger generation can still love them just as much as I did when I was *VERY* little. Hey, I'm still young now. :P
These 'rehashes' if you can call them that may be more expensive compared to the originals at the 2nd hand shop/online but you have less to worry about where to find them and you don't have to question the physical condition of the carts/discs and if it comes with the manual etc.
Sony claims their PSP will do 3d graphics , so the next GBA will probably be capable of the same. I don't have my hopes up that when these handhelds come out, there will be that many 2d games released.
Sony seems to have a policy against 2d games which is why you don't see many 2d games on the PS2 but you do on the Dreamcast. They either have to be chepaer priced or bundled as two on the PS2 so most developers (porters) don't bother.
This isn't a Square game but since they rereleased Lunar:SSSC on the GBA SP I'ld love to see the same happen to Lunar:EB.
SoM's best feature was very original and rich graphics and really good music. The plot was rather poorly stitched together and the multiplayer was useless because the screen wasn't split, making quick decisions and dealing with group actions and dealing quickly with more difficult situations (like needing to use a whip to cross a gap away from powerful enemies in the Mana Fortress) is a pain in the ass.
The best feature really was the ring system which made doing repetitive actions on multiple characters easy, and finding new actions very easy and fast.
Side note: if you got your magic up to 8:99, there was a secret "9th level" to all the magic spells with more drastic animations.
For more "maxed out" information on SoM look here.
It doesn't sound like you played multiplayer at all.
At the time, it was the only action RPG with multiplayer, and those of us with friends to play with had absolute blasts.
What other Square Enix games would you like to see on Game Boy Advance?
Chrono Trigger. It's never been officially released in Europe (we didn't get the SNES original or the PSX port). A GBA remake would be most welcome.
It could be a straight port, reproducing the SNES original as faithfully as possible; or it could be a reinterpretation, with new game mechanics around the original story (e.g. a new battle system based on Chrono Cross's excellent system).
-Stephen
I have been looking forward to snagging this game all year. Daydreaming about having my friends (or at least one other friend) over to play through another great Seiken Densetsu, since we always enjoyed the originals (at least 2 and 3) so much.
I recently discovered the ROM was already released online (not officially, nor legally, of course) and decided to give it a preview before Dec. 1st. I was really glad I did for several reasons.
At the time I had no idea they had no real multiplayer. This was no irritating to me, primarily because it was the sole function I was waiting for all this time. No other RPG, at least until FF Crystal Chronicles comes out, does multiplayer as well as these games. Though I enjoyed the other AD&D licensed ARPGs, I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as Secret of Mana or Seiken Densetsu.
Regardless, I had a lot of fun with the original release of Final Fantasy Adventure, so I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. As a big fan of Squares 16-bit productions, despite the disappointment of having my most-looked-forward to aspect ignored this is THE best Square RPG I have played since the Super Nintendo era.
I've played about 6 or so hours into the game so far. The graphics are fantastic, combining the beatiful hand-painted style of Legend of Mana with the technically-unbelievable tile detail from Seiken Densetsu 3.
The gameplay is finely honed and may possibly be the best in the series. Looking back over the past games Secret of Mana featured the smoothest control of the first four games, with SD3's slower combat movement cutting down on the playability (though not much) and Legend of Mana's removal of vertical attacks almost destroying the combat options entirely. Sword of mana combines the best of all these, with smooth animation, responsive control and weapon attacks that have a large hit radius making it easier to kill the smaller enemies.
Magic, in this installment, is handled in a very different way than previous games. Where in the first few games the action was paused momentarily for casting a spell, Sword of Mana allows for spell casting in real time.
An elemental is selected from the menu beforehand, and while in combat the player has the option of casting either support magic, or attack magic. A quick press of the button will cast the elementals support spell, while holding down and releasing it after a few frames allows for an attack spell to be cast. More interestingly is the fact that attack spells change depending on what weapon type is currently equipped, giving you even more options.
Also incorporated was a stripped down version of SD3's class system, making all 6 "classes" available to the player when leveling up. Primarily acting as a method to distribute the players status points at level up, the class feature also unlocks various benefits and abilities when different class options are focused on.
The story is also pleasently surprising. Though some of the early dialogue is a little too modern (a few too many "dudes", "chicks" and "Ya mans" for my age group) it delivers the plot and characters really well. Most of the original, major characters are intact with large amounts of new dialogue to each of them, as well as slightly different plot paths. However, the most pleasing aspect of this is the near-total lack of *hours* *of* *needless* *and* *irritating* *cinematics*. The game is not over directed what-so-ever, and instead opts to show simple cinematic scenes to move the plot along and then drop you right back into the action, or leave you to wander the area and gather more information or story on your own. (if you're confused by this, just think of most 16-bit square RPGs.)
Another interesting addition in this department are the side-quests, which range from very simple, to very lengthy, but are always amusing. The rewards for doing them are usual small, often exchange for items or money, but since I haven't completed the game they may yield a larger prize the further along you are.
HAHAHA! Whoa man! Chill out! I didn't mean it that way at all!
I am really sorry it came across like that. I didn't intend for it to sound like I was insulting you.
I'll just assume you really don't think that playing a good game with friends is being incompetent, because that just sounds more like a blind attack back at me.
Either way, the game was fantastic multiplayer, and offered the only gameplay of it's type in the day, which was my main point.
I'm sure you played the role of the girl, you fucking asshole.
Be nice. And "girl" is not an insult. Wonder why they don't talk to you?
"What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
Of all the games I would like to see an Original ActRaiser Game. A little More "sim" with some great platformer action. I would like to see what else they could do with the series.
...that Star Ocean game they were developing for the GBA? I know I loved the PS game and that it has quite a cult. Why is news so slow?
Orange Star has been at war for 15 years, starting with Famicom Wars in 1988.
The original GameBoy game was marketted in the US under the name "Final Fantasy Adventure" to capitalize on the FF series' success. In reality, it was the first game in the Seiken Densetsu series, not the well-known SNES game "Secret of Mana" (that was Seiken Densetsu 2). The next step now is to release Seiken Densetsu 3 on the GBA - it's certainly got good enough graphics and gameplay (including a neat storyline that changes based on which characters you choose at the beginning), but it was released in the SNES' dying days and never made it to the US.
--- Bwah?
If you took out all the FMV and redid the cut-scenes with in-game graphics, you could probably pull off FF7 on a Gameboy. It obviously wouldn't be quite as impressive as the PSX version, but you guys DID play this game for the story rather than the graphics, right?... right..?
Alright, well even still, this was the most popular FF game ever it seems... so it would be an instant success anyways.
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
If they move FFVI to the GBA I'll finally get a GBA. I've been waiting mainly because none of the games interest me enough to get something that i'll prolly just play around with on campus.
:x
FFVI would be awesome though. Prolly won't happen though
- Joe
As for Square-Enix games, the original Dragon Warrior [from the NES], and a release of the Earthbound games for those of us outside of Japan would be nice. I'd import it, but since I don't read Japanese, I think I'd rather not waste my money.
The Kingdom of Retarsia
I just wanted to throw my vote under the parent.
I would love to play Seiken Densetsu 3. I have had the translated (yet illegal) rom available, but I'd rather play it on my SP.
It would be great to have the multiplayer capability as well.
Same for SD2/Secret of Mana
You know - it would be nice if Square would put Chrono Trigger with enhancements on the GBA. CT is still a DAMN good SNES RPG that deserves to be on the GBA.
You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
Having even a direct port to the GBA would be great. This was, by far, the best console RPG ever.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
Sweet....
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.